Grant F. Smith

Grant F. Smith is the director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington and the author of the 2016 book, Big Israel: How Israel’s Lobby moves America.

The Israel Lobby’s Role in US Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

Awareness of the Israel lobby’s role in the Jerusalem proclamation and dangerous upcoming initiates, may ultimately encourage larger numbers of Americans fed up with Israeli coercion of their politicians and agencies to organize to take back their government.

Grant F. Smith
By Grant F. Smith
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the 2016 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference at the Verizon Center, on Monday, March 21, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and intent to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is sure to harm the United States. A product of decades of pressure by Israel and its US lobby, the move is an incremental step toward pressuring the US to confer legitimacy on all of Israel’s territorial

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Poll: Americans Oppose the ‘Anti-Semitism Awareness Act’

Proponents of the bill claim it would protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment. Opponents argue the bill would undermine free speech, and is a thinly-disguised gag order designed to quash criticism of Israel in academia.

Grant F. Smith
By Grant F. Smith
Supporters of Students for Justice in Palestine rallied on the Manhattan campus of Fordham University to protest a ban on the group by the school's administration, as well as a threat of disciplinary action against one of its leaders, Sapphira Lurie, by Fordham Dean of Students Keith Eldredge. (Photo by Joe Catron/flickr/cc)

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on November 7 to discuss the "Anti-Semitism Awareness Act." Proponents of ASAA claim it is a law that would protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment, which they claim is a major problem on campus. Opponents argue the bill would undermine free speech rights, and is a thinly-disguised gag order

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Congressmen Pressed Obama to Pardon Lawrence Franklin for Spying on Behalf of Israel

Republican Dana Rohrabacher and Democrat Juan Vargas, secretly pressed President Obama to pardon convicted spy Lawrence Franklin, claiming pardoning Franklin for spying on behalf of Israel was in the “best interest of U.S.”

Grant F. Smith
By Grant F. Smith
Larry Franklin, of Kearneysville, W.Va., left, leaves the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va. after a hearing on Wednesday, May 4, 2005. The FBI arrested Franklin, a Pentagon analyst on a charge alleging he passed classified information about potential attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq to employees of a pro-Israel group. (AP/Kevin Wolf)

On December 14, 2016, two California congressmen, Republican Dana Rohrabacher and Democrat Juan Vargas, secretly pressed President Obama to pardon convicted spy Lawrence Franklin. Colonel Franklin, an employee at the Department of Defense, pled guilty to charges of espionage for passing classified information to the American Israel Public

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Poll: Americans Would Cut Middle East War Spending

But “crusaders” backed by foreign interests shape policy

Grant F. Smith
By Grant F. Smith
U.S. Army soldiers tour St. Elijah's Monastery on Forward Operating Base Marez on the outskirts of Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo,)

On November 3, professor John Mearsheimer made a short and stunning presentation at "U.S. Foreign Policy in the Trump Era: Can Realism and Restraint Prevail?" conference held at George Washington University in Washington, DC. In the unipolar world after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he claimed, realists urged nonintervention and staying out of

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Could Russia Use The Israel Lobby’s Tactics To Skirt FARA Order?

Russia could use then tactics employed bt the Israeli Lobby to skirt Justice Department orders for RT to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Grant F. Smith
By Grant F. Smith
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to members of the audience before speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, Monday, March 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The Department of Justice has ordered Russia’s U.S.-based RT news network to begin registering as Russian foreign agents under the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law requires US-based agents of foreign principals to disclose financial information and activities in regular public filings overseen by a designated DOJ office. Over the

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Poll: 62% Of Americans Oppose Giving F-35 Jets To Israel

Many believe the F-35 jets will be modified by Israel to carry nuclear weapons.

Grant F. Smith
By Grant F. Smith
Poll: 62% Of Americans Oppose Giving F-35 Jets To Israel

Israel has begun taking possession of allotments of F-35 stealth jets from the US. Although many reports describe the transfer as an Israeli "purchase" of the aircraft, under an unpopular ten-year $38 billion aid deal, Israel will receive fifty of the jets at no cost. Results from a public opinion poll of 1,000 American adults fielded through

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